


Ashes

by Jathis



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Religion, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22920487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Ash Wednesday can be hard on someone like Stanley who is constantly blaming themselves for things
Relationships: LeFou & Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast), LeFou/Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Ashes

It was Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent had never been a big deal for Lefou and it meant even less now that he was practicing his maman’s faith. He wasn’t even sure if he had ever actually followed the weekly fasting of meat on fridays back when he considered himself Catholic. Gaston certainly never had.

Lefou had learned to keep a close eye on his spouse on Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent seemed to have a heavy effect on them, dragging up all offenses both real and imagined. Anyone else got through their day after service, ashes on their foreheads and no other worries in their heads. Stanley’s anxiety refused to let them as time went on. Every year it felt as if more and more sins were piling up inside of their head and heart, dragging them down. The guilt sometimes left Stanley unable to do anything. Their daughter Jeanne-Marie was often the only thing that could drag Stanley out of their worries but even she was not always successful.

“I’m sorry,” Stanley whispered. They sat beside Lefou at a table in the kitchen, hands currently set into a bowl of warm water. They stared at the water as it slowly turned a dull red color, unable to look at Lefou.

“Stanley, you know you don’t have to apologize to me,” he said with a shrug. He pulled one of their hands from the bowl, drying it with a towel before applying the poultice onto the wounds Stanley had opened on the backs of their hands. “I’ll always be here to take care of you,” he said.

“...I’m a burden,” Stanley murmured.

Lefou forced himself not to sigh aloud. He didn’t want Stanley to think that he saw them that way. He only wished that he could do more to help soothe the worries and guilt inside of Stanley’s head. “You’re my spouse. You are never a burden to me,” he said instead.

“I didn’t realize I was doing it,” Stanley said with a shake of their head. “Père Robert had just put the ashes on my forehead and I knelt back down in the pews and just started to pray and think about repentance and then I just…”

“I know,” Lefou gently said, wrapping up Stanley’s hands on clean bandages. He smiled sadly, kissing Stanley on the cheek in comfort. “I know, my love.”

Stanley shyly placed their head on Lefou’s shoulder, allowing their body to relax against him.


End file.
